He stripped off his clothes on the spot. He looked ruefully down at the gun in his hand. He would have to leave that behind too, but he didn’t have a choice if he wanted to catch up to West before he did something that couldn’t be undone.
There’s still time. She’s hurt – but she’s still alive.
Marcus tossed the pistol onto the ground and began to shift. Everything changed in an instant; his body, his mind, his instincts, his senses. He was altogether different – but one thing didn’t change.
His motivation to find Angie was the same.
He ran, then. He wasn’t sure how far or how long he ran, but he ran, breath coming at first easily, then harsh in his lungs, but he pushed on. He ran through his pasture, past his scattered cattle who fled before him. Then he was at the end of his land and he ripped through the barbed wire fence, unconcerned if his cattle escaped. West had leaped over it, Angie probably clutched in his jaws.
And there it was. An old house sitting completely alone in some field miles and miles from Charming. Marcus slowly shifted back, keeping quiet, and crouched down low to observe the house.
It looked in rough shape as all of the windows seemed to be broken out, the old white paint was chipped and peeling, and a gnarled tree sat off to one side. There was nothing in front of it except open field with grass that had grown nearly knee height. One window showed flickering light; Marcus assumed there was a lantern or candle inside.
Marcus crouched low when he saw movement inside. He watched as West came to the window, blocking out most of the light. He was hunched over and looked injured. Marcus smiled. Angie had done a number on him with the shotgun. But they weren’t out of the woods yet.
Even with his eyes, he wasn’t able to see enough of what he wanted – but he could tell that West was looking out, scanning the field. Marcus pressed himself flat against the ground and moved forward inch by inch.
Ten minutes put him up against the outside of the house. Marcus leaned up against it, keeping as close as possible to it, thankful for the blowing wind to mask his scent.
He listened intently, straining to hear over the wind and could just make out the sound of West talking. Carefully, Marcus peered into one of the windows. Inside was dark, but he could just see enough through an open door to see the prisoners inside.
Angie was the closest to him. On the far side of the room with Joanna Rivers – and much to Marcus’s surprise, Jonathan Hall. The two women appeared untouched, though Jonathan Hall was in rougher shape than the house was. His face was bruised, one eye purple and shut tight. Marcus almost felt pity for the man.
Then he ducked down as West moved back past the door completely naked. Marcus risked peeking back upward and saw that West was clutching his side that was slick with blood. It wasn’t a life threatening wound for a Shifter but it would be painful and needed to be taken care of.
He’s weak. I have that going for me – but he’s in a much better spot than I am. He knows I have to come to him. All he has to do is wait.
“Don’t move!” West growled. Angie tried yelling at him but she was gagged – and West lashed out, striking her across the face. Marcus almost jumped through the window then but managed to hold himself down. His blood was boiling.
West moved towards the front of the house and Marcus heard the front door open. He quickly made his way around the back of the house. Marcus heard the sound of his footsteps coming around, so Marcus reached up and climbed through one of the broken windows, slipping into the house.
Marcus crouched down underneath the window and West walked right past on his patrol of the area. Marcus waited a few moments and looked outside, watching as West moved off a little bit.
This is my chance.
Moving quickly, Marcus entered the living room where the three prisoners were. He came up quietly behind Angie.
“Help!” Jonathan Hall yelled.
Marcus glanced up towards him, finding that Hall had seen him. “Shut up!” Marcus ordered. Joanna Rivers saw him and looked relieved – if a little surprised to find him in the nude.
Angie’s relief was palpable when she realized that he was untying her. He first undid her hands, then moved to her feet as she pulled out the gag. Then she was jumping up into his arms, hugging him closely, kissing him over and over.
“I knew you’d come,” she told him. “I knew it.”
“We have to get you out of here,” he said. He made his way over to Joanna Rivers and began untying her. Angie sat back and watched. Marcus glanced over at Jonathan Hall and considered leaving him behind but sighed and untied him as well.
Joanna Rivers screamed and Marcus turned. West was standing in the doorway, looking haggard and worn – but he had Marcus’s gun in his hands.
“Get behind me,” he ordered the other three. They obeyed.
“It won’t matter, Marcus,” West said, aiming the revolver at him. “I knew you’d come for them. I always knew. Do you honestly think you could sneak up on me like that? I smelled you coming from miles away. You fell for my trap. Again.”
“Let them go, West,” Marcus ordered. “This is between you and me.”
He considered for a few moments and then shook his head. “That is true. But they’re not going free. You’re going to watch as I tear them limb from limb, feast on their flesh while you’re too helpless to watch. For all of the trouble that you and your family has caused me, it’s the least I can do.”
“Leave Angie out of this!”
“That’s not the family I mean,” West said. Marcus narrowed his eyes but had no idea what West was talking about. “I thought as much. Did you know that your father and my father knew each other? Well – I wouldn’t put it in those words, I guess. But they certainly didn’t get along. And when your kind came after my kind, your father killed my father. Do you see where I’m going with this, Marcus?”
“I never knew my father,” Marcus growled. “So your vendetta is heavily misplaced.”
West shrugged his shoulders and said, “Maybe so. But you’ll have to do. I’ve been looking forward to this moment for nearly 30 years. Your father would have killed me, too – but I was just a bit quicker than he was. Can you imagine that? I was barely six years old, and he was going to kill me.”
“I didn’t know him,” Marcus growled, looking at the revolver clutched in West’s hand. It was true, he hadn’t known his father. But from what he’d heard from his mother, he was a good man. Honorable. He was supposed to exemplify all of the qualities that made a bear Shifter good.
And it’s all a lie.
Marcus looked up at West and West pulled the trigger.
Chapter 19
Marcus had shifted at the last second. Angie watched in alarm as he barreled forward, his massive bulk pressing down on West. Then the gun was flying across the room and West was shifting. Marcus’s jaw bit down, latching onto one of West’s forearms and yanking hard. The wolf went flying across the room, shattering the chair that Joanna Rivers had been sitting in moments before.
The wolf was sliding across the floor and came to a rest against the wall. But he was up immediately, snarling – limping noticeably – but still ready to fight to the death. He jumped into the air, going straight for Angie, but Marcus intercepted him.
Angie pressed herself up against the wall, moving out of the way as both Shifters tumbled in her direction. Then she found herself running towards the middle of the living room as they crashed through the wall. Rotting boards and plaster exploded around them.
“Angie!” Joanna yelled. Angie looked up at her. She was gesturing Angie towards her and Jonathan Hall, both of whom were at the door.
Glancing back towards the fighting, Angie realized that she couldn’t leave Marcus behind. She wouldn’t.
“Go! I’ll catch up!” she yelled back, trying to raise her voice over the sound of the fighting. Marcus and the wolf were fighting, snarling, snapping – but it looked to be going in Marcus’s favor.
She watched as Joanna and Jo
nathan left the house. Angie didn’t have the heart to tell them that running was pointless. If West killed Marcus then running wouldn’t save them no matter how far they ran.
There was a yelp of pain and Angie looked over. Marcus had West in his jaws and with a massive twist of his neck, threw him into the wall of the house. Wood splintered and cracked and a howl of agony came out of West’s bloody jowls. Angie looked up, seeing the wall she was leaning against coming down. She dove out of the way in the nick of time as a few splinters of wood flew past her, one striking her across the forehead. She collapsed on the ground, bloodied but otherwise fine.
She touched her head. There was a lot of blood but she knew the wound wasn’t deep. She saw that Marcus had West pinned down.
It’s over. Marcus won.
Then she heard the noise of the hammer being drawn back of a gun. Carefully, Angie turned her head – and saw Jonathan standing there, Marcus’s revolver pointed at her.
“I can’t let you go, Ange,” he whispered, though he looked sad to say it. Angie dropped her arms to her side since there was nothing she could do. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Marcus closing in on West, going for the killing blow.
Angie nodded, numb. After everything that had happened…
Marcus roared, flashing between Jonathan Hall and Angie, and Jonathan screamed. Angie pressed herself backwards, trying to crawl out of the carnage and the sound of Marcus descending on Jonathan…
She saw West getting up weakly, his golden eyes dazed but focused on her – and she knew she wasn’t safe just yet.
But with a half leap, the wolf that was West jumped through the shattered window to the side, living to fight another day. Angie had the fleeting sensation to try to follow him, to somehow stop him, but she knew it would end in her death.
Angie managed to get to her feet and stumbled through the door, yelling, “Joanna!” Even if she didn’t like the woman, she couldn’t let her be out in the middle of nowhere with the wolf on the loose. Luckily, she came back almost immediately, looking terrified. Angie found herself pulling her into the house and slamming the door behind her, though she knew it wouldn’t keep out West if he really wanted.
And then Angie collapsed against the wall and slid to the floor, exhausted. Blood trickled down into her eyes. She felt more exhausted than she ever had. Her eyes felt heavy, leaden…
The next few hours were a complete blur. Angie didn’t know what it was – maybe a combination of what had been going on, or being pregnant – but she found herself in Marcus’s arms, carried across the field, Joanna Rivers beside them.
Marcus was limping but every time she looked up at him, he smiled. She fell asleep in his arms and when she awoke, she was laying in their bed. A warm breeze blew in the open window. Angie stretched. She was sore, but she felt surprisingly well.
She noticed she wasn’t wearing any of the dirty clothes she’d been wearing the night before. The blood that had been covering her was gone as well.
“How are you feeling?” Marcus asked from the doorway. Angie smiled weakly and sat up, wincing as she did so.
She shrugged and winced again. “Could be worse. What happened to West?”
Marcus shook his head and said, “He got away.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “He’s been after you a long time and he’s still out there.”
“I would choose you and our child every single time,” he promised her, sitting down next to her on the bed. “I would never choose vengeance over saving you. But he will pay, Angie. I promise you. He can run as fast and as long as he wants, but I won’t let him get away.”
“I know,” she said, smiling. She wasn’t one for vengeance, or personal vendettas – but West had everything that was coming to him. He needed to pay for what he had done to her, Joanna Rivers, and the entire town of Charming. “So.”
“So?”
“What happens next?”
Marcus considered for a moment. “We start our lives together.”
“And? What if you can’t find West? What happens when we get the blowback for killing his agents? What about you being Sheriff? You were innocent. Mostly… So why can’t you be Sheriff again?”
“I don’t know,” he told her. He looked like he wanted to say something, so Angie was quiet until he said, “What if I don’t become the Sheriff again?”
“It won’t change anything,” Angie assured him. “I’ll love you no matter what you do.”
To prove it to him, she slid across the bed and took his face in her own. She turned him towards her and pressed her lips softly against his own. She kissed him then, working her lips slowly upon his own, feeling the softness against her. He kissed slowly at first, as if unsure if that was what she really wanted – but after a few moments of their lips upon each other’s, she felt him fully give in.
Marcus’s hands wrapped around her body carefully, ensuring that he wouldn’t hurt her. She leaned into him, falling across his lap, their lips never stopping. They kissed for minutes and everything else seemed to fall away. West, the kidnappings, her ex-boyfriend, everything that had been bad these past few days was all gone.
Slowly, one of Marcus’s hands worked its way up, sliding underneath her shirt. She shuddered at his fingertips sliding against her bare stomach. Inch by inch, they moved up towards her chest and then slid over one of her breasts, squeezing the fabric of her bra softly.
Marcus lifted her up with ease and laid her down on the bed before him. Angie reached up and took her shirt off, lifting it over her head, and then his lips were upon her. They were kissing her bare shoulder. Light, little kisses, over and over, causing goosebumps to explode across her flesh. He slid her bra strap to the side, moving his lips up to her neck, then her ear where he nibbled gently. Angie laughed and pushed him away playfully.
She undid her bra and laid there topless, letting Marcus’s eyes drink her in. He ran a hand along her chest ever so slightly, a few fingers sliding over one of her nipples. She moaned. His fingers kept moving downward, sliding over her stomach, then coming to a rest on the pajama pants she was wearing.
He looked as if he was going to slide her pants down but he took his shirt off and suddenly pounced on her. She laughed at his did so, raining kisses down upon her skin wherever he could. She could feel his body pressing against hers and Angie ran her hand over his chest, his arms, his back, marveling at just what kind of man Marcus truly was.
They started to kiss again, only this time, it wasn’t slow and tender. Their kiss was passionate, quick, almost as if both of them being on the verge of death only hours before made them being alive that much more important.
Angie reached down and unbuttoned his jeans, then she was pushing them off as fast as she could. She was pushing his underwear down and she felt them catch against his member, rock hard and stiff, ready to take her. Marcus was kicking out of his jeans and underwear as fast as he could manage, his lips never leaving her own.
He reached down and pulled down her sleep pants, fingers looped on the inside of her soaking wet panties as well, and then they were both completely naked in bed, his toned and hard body just above hers. She could feel his thickness pressing against her thighs. With a slight movement, he was pressing between her legs. She could feel her wetness slickening the head of his cock and both of them wasted no time.
He angled his hips at her, pushing himself between her legs, and Angie screamed in pleasure as the tip of his member pushed into her. She could feel herself stretching wide, unsure just how easily he would slide in – but she was so turned on that he went in with ease. Her moans filled the room as he sank deeper into her, going slowly at first.
Once he was completely inside of her, Marcus pulled himself out and pushed back in quickly. Angie felt herself rock backwards as he pushed back into her, her breasts bouncing, one of his hands grabbing one and squeezing her nipple. She let out another moan and pushed her body into his, marveli
ng at being completely filled by Marcus, loving how he was making her feel.
His lips came down again on her neck, then her breast, kissing and nibbling and biting with each and every thrust. She reached down and grabbed his ass, squeezing hard and pulling him towards her, pushing him as deep as he could go. Marcus kept going deeper and deeper, hitting all sorts of places Angie had never felt a man go before, completely lost in the pleasure he was bringing her.
With each and every stroke, his cock slid against her clit, making her moan and buck forward in pleasure. And then finally it was too much to bear. She could feel her orgasm building to a rushing crescendo and there was no stopping it.
Resigned to her fate, she let it build, feeling her legs and feet clench in anticipation, and then he pushed into her as deep as he could go, and Marcus went stiff – he was cumming – and that was enough to push Angie completely over the edge and they came together.
Deep inside of her, Angie could feel Marcus’s member jumping, spilling his hot seed inside of her. She moaned, knowing he was filling her up, and she tightened around him hard and fast. He pushed as deep as he could and she knew he could feel her contractions, tightening around him over and over and over.
Finally, both of them spent, out of breath, and covered in a sheen of slick sweat, Marcus pulled himself out of her. Angie could feel his cum oozing out of her like a dam that had burst and then he was next to her, one hand on her stomach, exhausted.
They didn’t say anything for a long time until he turned towards her and wrapped one of his massive arms around her, pulling her as close as he could manage. It was hot – but she didn’t mind. There was no place she’d rather be than in Marcus’s arms.
It wasn’t perfect. Life would never be perfect. Things were coming to a head and she was unsure of the future.
But she knew a few things. Laying there besides Marcus was as close to perfect as it would ever get. She smiled and nuzzled up next to him, content with life – somehow.
Fate’s Reaping Page 14